Marketing has changed. While traditional methods of marketing -- such as advertising, press releases, and direct sales -- are still needed, they have become increasingly expensive, and less effective. Most startups don't have the financial means to advertise their way into people's awareness amid the barrage of ads from their well-heeled competitors. So what's an entrepreneur to do?

Enter inbound marketing. Instead of buying your prospective customer's attention, you earn it by freely providing something of value to everyone. While this sounds altruistic, the goal is become a valuable resource that others rely on for information relevant to their needs. This builds trust, and repeated exposure which can then lead to conversion.

There's a lot more to it that that, and an entire industry has sprung up around inbound marketing, but you now have the basic concept. The people at Impact Branding and Design produced an infographic that sums up the inbound marketing process nicely, so I've included it below for your enjoyment.

So what are your plans with respect to inbound marketing. Are you already using it in your business? Is it working well for you? I'd love to hear your experiences.